The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a Shakespearean play first performed in 1604, during the Elizabethan era. Mabillard says that the story of Othello is known for its variety of themes such as hate, revenge, racism, love and repentance with betrayal and jealousy being the main themes of the plot. The Elizabethan era was a time when slavery was common and a time of religious tensions. The play is set in Venice, the city that was leading the conflict between Christianity and the barbaric Turks. The society looks down upon moors or dark skin and so, in spite of being a respected military general, Othello faces racism. The racism makes him feel like he is not part of the society and begins to feel insecure and then begins to doubt his
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Nami says that Othello’s dark skin would easily be associated with slavery and his marriage with Desdemona would be looked down upon and conservative groups especially, would not take the marriage too well. Nami further adds that due to the tone of the other characters they use for him, the audience is put under the impression that Othello is a very crude black man. Audiences then, had a negative reaction to the marriage as compared to the audiences today, who would immediately become sympathetic towards Othello due to the racism he faces. Slavery, as of today, is long gone and interracial marriage is no longer a rare occurrence. It is likely that today’s audiences would not give much thought to the concept of interracial marriage until mentioned in the play itself. The reaction of other characters to the marriage too, is in accord with the Elizabethan audience. Brabantio, unhappy with his daughter’s wedding to Othello, ridicules him in court. He passes comments like, “sooty bosom of such thing as thou” as mentioned in Orkin’s journal article. He also says that his daughter is under Othello’s magic because she would not marry a moor on her own. All of Brabantio’s accusation were based on race and color, and the others present in the court even considered Brabantio’s accusation until Desdemona herself showed up in court to make the
Nami says that Othello’s dark skin would easily be associated with slavery and his marriage with Desdemona would be looked down upon and conservative groups especially, would not take the marriage too well. Nami further adds that due to the tone of the other characters they use for him, the audience is put under the impression that Othello is a very crude black man. Audiences then, had a negative reaction to the marriage as compared to the audiences today, who would immediately become sympathetic towards Othello due to the racism he faces. Slavery, as of today, is long gone and interracial marriage is no longer a rare occurrence. It is likely that today’s audiences would not give much thought to the concept of interracial marriage until mentioned in the play itself. The reaction of other characters to the marriage too, is in accord with the Elizabethan audience. Brabantio, unhappy with his daughter’s wedding to Othello, ridicules him in court. He passes comments like, “sooty bosom of such thing as thou” as mentioned in Orkin’s journal article. He also says that his daughter is under Othello’s magic because she would not marry a moor on her own. All of Brabantio’s accusation were based on race and color, and the others present in the court even considered Brabantio’s accusation until Desdemona herself showed up in court to make the